AGENE GODWIN, Benin
Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Wednesday, declared that past governments and leaders in the country since 1960 were responsible for failed policies aimed at diversifying the economy.
Oshiomhole who stated this in Benin City while delivering a maiden public lecture of the Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), tagged; “Dwindling Revenue from crude oil: the challenges for state government” said, the more talked about diversification of the economy has been greeted by a serious challenge.
The governor said unless there was achange in people’s mentality concerning money generated from oil as being government money, ‘the challenges of good governance will be monumental,’ just as he tasked the media on what he called ‘ lazy reportage’ on glaring issues of development in the state.
Oshiomhole said his government will always take from the rich and give to the poor adding that “If oil becomes zero, Edo state will survive”.
“We are in a mono economy driven by oil and every government after government preaches the need to diversify our economy and everybody commit itself to the diversification of our economy. If you read several budget speeches since 1960 every head of state, every minister, in every budget statement at the end we are assured that at the heart of that budget there is a commitment to diversify our economy, to create jobs to keep our young people busy, and to industrialize Nigeria to move us away from exporting unprocessed primary products to creating an industrial piece where we add value to commodity rather than exporting them without adding value”.
Speaking, the Chairman of the occasion and two time governor of the Midwest state, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia said the topic is not only significant but also futuristic “with unquantifiable benefits if it is well dissected, harnessed and implemented “.
He therefore appealed to both state and federal government take the issue of diversifying the economy seriously if Nigeria must survive the test of time.
Earlier in his speech, the Chairman Edo Correspondent Chapel of the NUJ, Simon Ebegbulem urged participants to take advantage of the timely public lecture and be better informed about the short comings of over dependence on oil as the nation’s only source of revenue.
On his part, the Edo NUJ Chairman, Comrade Rowland Osakue pledged the council’s support to chapels in the state with laudable programmes such as the one pulled by the correspondent chapel. He added that the programme is timely as “the dwindling revenue from oil sales has posed many challenges to both government and private institutions across the country to the extent that many states and local governments are unable to meet their financial obligations to their workers”.
Present at the event were: Prince Gregory Akenzua, Chief David Edebiri, the Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Onogie of Opoji, representative of the speaker of the Edo House of Assembly, all state commissioners, Hon. Rasaq Bello-Osagie, students of various secondary schools, revenue collectors in the state, market women, civil society organizations, and others.
